Seven Lions

Seven Lions is the stage name of Jeffrey Allen “Jeff” Montalvo, an American DJ, producer, instrumentalist and remixer from Santa Barbara, California. Active since 2010, he has built a catalogue that brings trance into contact with melodic dubstep, drum and bass, glitch hop and electro house. Before focusing on electronic production, he played guitar and bass in metal bands, an early background reflected in the heavier edges of some of his work.

Montalvo began making original trance music after becoming interested in the style while in college. He adopted the name Seven Lions from Gene Wolfe’s 2003 fantasy novel Latro in the Mist and first gained attention through remixes, including Florence + the Machine’s “Cosmic Love.” His remix of Above & Beyond’s “You Got to Go” won the group’s official remix competition, reached No. 2 on Beatport’s dubstep chart, and was subsequently released officially.

His early EPs placed him with labels including OWSLA and Casablanca Records. Days to Come, his second EP, was named by Vibe among its Top Electronic Albums of 2012 and peaked at No. 10 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The 2014 EP Worlds Apart reached No. 76 on the Billboard 200. Its Ellie Goulding collaboration “Don’t Leave” also entered the UK Singles Chart. Later releases included The Throes of Winter, Creation, Where I Won’t Be Found, Start Again, Find Another Way and Seven Lions: 1999, a collection of throwback trance remixes.

Collaboration has been a regular part of Seven Lions’ releases. Among them are “Strangers” with Myon and Shane 54 featuring Tove Lo, “Rush Over Me” with Said the Sky, ILLENIUM and HALIENE, and “First Time” with SLANDER and Dabin. He has also worked with artists including Jason Ross, Kill The Noise, Wooli, Trivecta, Excision, MitiS, Crystal Skies and Blastoyz.

In 2018, Montalvo founded Ophelia Records, an independent label whose releases include melodic bass, dubstep, psytrance and drum and bass. He has toured regularly in the United States and performed at festivals including SXSW, Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo and Camp Bisco. In 2014, he was nominated for America’s Best DJ, a competition run by DJ Times.